I’m a health editor – this is what I do for my thinning hair
I first noticed a thinning patch of hair 13 years ago, when I was getting ready for an anniversary dinner with my husband. The area was small and easily disguisable, with a slight parting shift. “Can you see it?” I asked my husband. “Is it really obvious?” He told me not to be silly; my hairdresser gave it a rub and told me not to worry. I had just had my second child and chances were, I told myself, that it was pregnancy and birth-related.
But the thinning continued, little by little, over the course of the decade. My parting was wider by the year; my fringe patchier, thinning and creeping further than ever from the lush coverage of my 20s and 30s. With my roots freshly died and fringe longer and swept to the side, it was mainly noticeable to me. But once I hit my 50s, the hair loss around my parting seemed to accelerate and my camera roll became filled with overhead snaps assessing the damage.
I went to the GP who carried out tests – everything was normal, apart from my iron levels, which were slightly low. He recommended a twice-weekly iron supplement. The practice nurse also told me, in no uncertain terms, that the declining hormones of menopause can lead to hair loss. I started HRT, but stuck to a low dose (one pump). Female pattern hair loss (FPHL), she explained, is relatively common – particularly for women in middle age and older.
“We all know that our hair colour changes with age, as pigment cells stop producing colour as prolifically,” says GH’s Dr Sarah Jarvis. “But it’s also possible for the life cycle of your hair to shorten and your hair follicles to shrink as the years go by, so lost hair is replaced by finer, thinner hairs. Over time, the shed hair is not replaced. This rarely results in complete or near-complete baldness, or a receding hairline. Instead, hair is often lost first from the crown, resulting in a wider parting – the so-called ‘Christmas-tree parting’. It’s usually down to a combination of ageing, family history and hormonal changes, especially around the menopause.”
Despite HRT, and iron supplements, my hair continued to fall out, with long strands decorating the shower and bath after every hair wash. I read endless clinical studies, as well as practically every hair loss feature that’s ever been written, and poured over posts on online forums, desperate to find an answer. I also spoke to beauty editor friends, who recommended trichologists and hairloss specialists at Philip Kingsley. My blood was retested. Ellie, my trichologist, examined my hair under a microscope, which I could watch on a rather horrifying live stream. She was reassuring – hair loss in perimenopause and menopause is common; there are things we can do. She recommended a focus on diet, supplementing key vitamins and minerals, and starting on minoxidil, the only UK-licensed medication for female hair loss.
A year later, at the age of 54, I think my hair loss has slowed – and has perhaps slightly improved. There’s less hair in the shower, and I’m much less conscious of my wide parting. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Sort out your diet.
Hair is one of the first things to go when your diet isn’t good; studies show that rapid weight loss – whether that’s due to weightloss injections or a very low calorie diet - can lead to hair loss (while diet-related hair loss is temporary, it can make any underlying problems like FPHL appear much worse). Ellie recommended eating good amounts of protein every meal – something that I’d let slide as I tinkered about with a vegan diet. For the past year, I have been eating yoghurt for breakfast, and a healthy serving of protein with lunch and dinner – whether that’s eggs, fish, cheese, or legumes.
Get iron and B12 levels checked.
Mine were both clinically low, and I still supplement today. ‘B12 Helps your body metabolise amino acids (the building blocks of hair), and helps keep your red blood cells healthy, allowing them to supply adequate oxygen to your tissues, including your hair follicles,’ explains Anabel Kingsley, Brand President of Philip Kingsley, and Consultant Trichologist. Iron, she explains, ‘is essential for supporting hair growth.’ The normal level for ferritin (stored iron) starts at 41ng/mL, but to support hair growth it needs to be as high as 75ng/mL.
And don’t forget vitamin D. ‘There’s a clear link between female pattern hair loss and low vitamin D,’ says Dr Jarvis. ‘Up to 20 micrograms a day is safe and could help.’
Think about HRT.
For women in mid life, declining oestrogen levels could be contributing to hair loss. I have now changed from a low-dose pump to a patch, which delivers the equivalent of two pumps a day.
Use a shampoo containing rosemary oil.
Studies are limited, but results suggest that consistent use of rosemary oil could have a similar success rate as minoxidil. I like Faith in Nature’s Rosemary Shampoo and Conditioner Set; you can complement this with a Rosemary Oil, massaged into your scalp for a few minutes every morning (studies have shown that massage helps increase blood flow to hair follicles).
Try minoxidil.
Some women experience miraculous regrowth after 6-12 months on minoxidil; I was one of the 30-40% that didn’t, but I do think it has slowed my hair loss. You have to be consistent – minoxidil needs to be applied daily. The treatment is available in chemists, including high street chemists under the brand name Regaine, and from trichologists.
‘A 2-3% Minoxidil solution is recommended for most women with androgenic alopecia,’ says Anabel Kingsley. ‘Due to the timing of the hair growth cycle, first results should be seen after approximately four-six months. Minoxidil should be applied daily and only work for as long as you use it. If you stop treatment any benefits will be lost, and hair density will usually revert to what it would have been had you never commenced treatment.’ I started on a 3% solution but moved up to 5% after six months, using once daily along my parting and temples.
Wash hair daily.
If you’re using minoxidil, you’ll want to anyway as it leaves a residue. But washing hair daily is good practice if you’re suffering from hair loss. ‘It is a misconception that shampooing frequently increases hair fall,’ says Anabel Kingsley. ‘If you are leaving a few days between your hair washing this will always look like more because you are seeing an accumulation of the daily hair fall. Good scalp hygiene is essential to hair growth – I advise most of my clients to shampoo frequently to obtain the best scalp conditions for healthy hair growth.'
Other steps that might help:
Taking a hair-specific vitamin supplement instead of boosting individual vitamin levels. Studies have shown Viviscal Hair Supplements can boost growth; again, though patience and consistency are key. And some studies suggest that low level laser treatment (LLLT) can help with hair loss; see our trial here!
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